April 24

I'm sure most of you who read our blog have been keeping up with our Facebook updates but for those of you who don't I'll update here too :). Last week Thursday started out as a regular clinic day - we headed to clinic nice and early, dropping Charlotte off at her Aunt's house along the way. Clinic was very quiet that morning - Evelyn got her check up and chemo all the while chatting with the nurses and doctors about how well she looked since being sick with pneumonia a week prior.

We went down to the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions and headed back to my sister-in-laws house for coffee and a play date. But on the way there (only ten minutes away) Evelyn started to complain that she wasn't feeling well. I thought maybe she was going to throw up but she reassured me that she wasn't. Sure enough when we arrived she felt hot and complained she couldn't stop shivering. In my gut it didn't feel right - she checked out great an hour ago at clinic and now her eyes weren't focusing, she was shivering like crazy and had a 102 degree fever. I called my clinic nurse and she told me I needed to get back to Mac immediately, as quick as I could - Evelyn was probably septic - there was bacteria in her central line (port) that had been flushed into her bloodstream after her chemo. She told me to call 911 if I didn't think I could get there fast enough so we quickly hung up and I called. Evelyn, despite how she was feeling, didn't want to go back and just wanted to play with her cousins. I convinced her we had to go and climbed into the ambulance. Charlotte stayed with her aunt and was happy to play a little longer. She was a little upset the ambulance didn't go speeding off and lights flashing :). It's always a scary unknown when Evelyn spikes a fever but this was probably the worst and most terrifying - to see her get so sick so quickly then lay there barely responsive.

I think I prayed all the way back to the hospital. Usually when we go through the ER there's a lot of waiting involved but I knew this was serious business when a team of nurses and our doctors were there in no time. Steve showed up at this point. Evelyn was hooked up to an IV and arduous task of taking blood and vitals was started. She was angry at this point and her fever was up to 104. They finally gave her Tylenol and started her on the highest dose of antibiotics. We were told we would be admitted - anywhere from 3-14 days, depending on which bacteria it was and what antibiotics were to be used. There was a room available on the ward so we were moved upstairs.

This whole time Evelyn had hardly moved and was fighting sleep but by the time we settled into our new room the Tylenol was finally kicking in and she was perking up a little. And Steve and I's heart rate returned back to normal!

As parents it's probably the most difficult thing to watch your child suffer but Evelyn continues to amaze us with her strength - she is one tough cookie and we are so proud of how she handles everything that gets thrown at her, even if that means various objects get thrown BACK at us ;).
During our first stay (over a year ago) we were in isolation for the majority of it but this time we weren't so we were excited to take advantage of all the new playrooms and were allowed to wander the halls.

Charlotte stayed at her aunt's house for the night so we could get settled in the hospital as well as in a room over at the Ronald MacDonald House. Because Evelyn's blood counts were high they decided to go ahead with all her other meds, including steroids. We thought this might be a challenge being at the hospital but also a good place to be since she usually sleeps well on steroids and often just wants to watch cartoons or cuddle. Though she was comfortable and happy in her bed that didn't stop the steroid rage - nurses, visitors and a certain sister received a good yelling every time things weren't done "properly" or they were touching "her" stuff. Evelyn was a little hesitant to sleep at the hospital but once we reassured her that we would not leave her there alone she slept great and snoozed until almost 9am.

 

 

With Evelyn being a year older this time around things such as sleep, meds and pokes went a little easier since we could explain to (and sometimes bribe) her into doing them. The nurses were having a really hard time trying to get a decent blood pressure reading from Evelyn since for most of them she screamed and wiggled through the whole thing. We met with the Child Life worker, Stephanie, who gave us some suggestions and made a special 'reward chart' to help make blood pressure (or 'arm hugs') a little easier.

On Friday we finally received the results from the blood cultures and blood tests and thankfully everything checked out negative. There was even talk of us going home on Saturday - we were excited! While the doctor was in our room Evelyn decided that was a good time to sneeze and she right away ordered a swab to be taken - they wanted to test for any virus that may have caused the fever on Thursday. We were happy that they were running all the applicable tests but also discouraged because until that swab came back we had to be in isolation - meaning Evelyn couldn't leave the room or play in the playrooms. We were sure it was just a sneeze, not a virus, but we obeyed doctor's orders as a precaution. Evelyn did exceptionally well being stuck in the room and she/we found plenty to keep her occupied.

Sisters and toys..

 

Bubbles..

 

 

Visitors..

 

 

Food..

 

Naps..

 

Balloons..

 

 

 

She also learned how and which buttons moved the bed up and down.

 

Unfortunately we got too excited too quickly - when the doctor came in on Saturday morning she informed us we would be staying until Monday afternoon. Because Evelyn was so sick on Thursday and they hadn't yet discovered a definite cause for the fever she felt it was best if Evelyn had a full 5 days of IV antibiotics. Though we were a little disappointed we weren't going home we completely agreed with the doctor - we didn't want to go home early then by chance return sooner then expected because of a fever. Not all of us were disappointed - Charlotte was ecstatic when she realized we would be sleeping two more nights at the Ronald MacDonald House. She had been asking for a long time to be able to go play and sleep there so it was nice to be able to do that for her despite the circumstances :). She took full advantage of the playroom and enjoyed being my key holder/elevator button pusher :).

 

We walked by the gift shop one morning and Charlotte insisted we buy Evelyn (and herself) a balloon to make her feel better

 

We continued to wait on the nose swab results which usually come back early in the morning but things work a little slower on the weekends and we didn't get results until later in the afternoon. They were all clear and we were free! We took advantage of the beautiful day and went for a walk around the university.

 

The next two days were quiet as Evelyn finished up her antibiotics. She received three doses (lasting about half an hour) a day but in between she was unhooked from her IV pole and got even more freedom. We were able to take her back to the Ronald MacDonald House to play and have a family dinner.

Also visit all the playrooms and wander the hospital.

Monday morning the doctor came in early and confirmed we were able to go home - yay! :). Evelyn had to have her antibiotics at 6am and 1pm but then we were free to go. She said she still wasn't sure what caused the fever - they are confident the fever was caused by a bacteria in her port but with the blood cultures coming back negative it's hard to say for sure if that's what it was. They sent us home with 6 more days of oral antibiotics to cover every base. After cleaning up both the hospital room, the room at RMH and filling Evelyn's prescriptions we were finally on our way home by 4pm.

 

We are so happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds. It's been a quiet week of getting things back in order, laundry and cleaning up. Yesterday we went back to clinic for her routine chemo treatment and we thank God is was a quick and uneventful trip :).

 

 

We would like to thank everyone who helped in any way; also all your comments and messages - it was such a blessing to be able to feel the love and care shown towards our little family. Cancer is a roller coaster, simply put. There are high highs, low lows and everything in between but we chose to rejoice and give thanks in God's ability to handle what we simply can't - what comfort in knowing we can hand all our anxieties, our worries, our uncertainties over to Him. These trials we face on this journey He has set us on are reminders there is a purpose, reasons behind all of this, but ultimately the promise Christ has secured for us who are steadfast toward Him - our eternal crown of glory. Most important we give our upmost gratitude to our Heavenly Father - without Him we would have no hope in the trials and afflictions in our life.

 

Lindsey and Stephen

 

Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."